Antifreeze device



Feb. 14, 1939. c. c. FARMER ET'AL ANTIFREEZE DEVICE Filed April 1, 1937 INVENTURS CLYDE E. FARMER ALFRED ELWDUD ATTORNEY 3 supplying an anti-freeze solution, such as alcobrake equipment for a motor vehicle.

Patented Feb. 14, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ANTIFREEZE. DEVICE Application April 1, 1937, Serial No. 134,328

scription taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. l is a view, partly in section, of the improved anti-freeze supply device provided by this invention,

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of a fluid compressor equipped with the anti-freeze supply device shown in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the compressor shown in Fig. 2 with the air strainer removed.

Referring to the drawing there is shown in Figs. 2 and 3 thereof a fluid compressor I, which may be of any well known construction, and which, as shown, comprises a body having a bore therein in which is mounted a piston 2. The body of the compressor has an annular inlet chamber 4 formed therein around the bore in which the piston 2 is mounted, and this inlet chamber communicates with the bore in the body through ports 6. These ports communicate with the compression chamber at the upper face of the piston 2 at one point in the range of movement of the piston 2.

The compressor body also has formed therein an exhaust chamber 8 which is constantly connected with a reservoir, not shown, by way of a pipe 9, while an exhaust valve I is mounted in the chamber 8 and controls communication between the compression chamber and the exhaust chamber.

The inlet chamber 4 is open to the face of the compressor body through an inlet passage l2 which is surrounded by a mounting face formed on the compressor body. This mounting face is adapted to have secured there against a flange associated with an air cleaning and intake silencing device l4, which may be of any suitable well known construction, and through which passes the fluid supplied from the atmosphere to the inlet chamber 4 of the compressor. The air cleaning device i4 is secured to the compressor body by means of screws or bolts 13 located on opposite sides of the inlet passage l2.

The anti-freeze supply device provided by this invention comprises a body l adapted to be interposed between the flange on the air strainer l4 and the mounting face on the compressor body surrounding the inlet passage l2. The body l5 has substantially parallel faces, either of which may be placed against the mounting face on the compressor body, and has spaced holes 16 therein through which may pass the screws or bolts l3 which secure the air strainer M to the compressor body, while the body l5 has a centrally located passage I8 therein opening on the parallel 4 Claims.

This invention relates to a fluid pressure system, and more particularly to means for preventing the freezing of moisture present in compressed air.

It has heretofore been proposed to provide means for introducing alcohol into air or other fluid which is to be supplied to a fluid pressure system, particularly a fluid pressure brake system, to prevent the freezing of the moisture which is usually present to a greater or less extent in fluid from the atmosphere which is compressed.

It is the object of this invention to provide improved means adapted to be associated with a fluid compressor, such as an air compressor, for

hol, to the fluid supplied to the compressor.

Another object of the invention is to provide an anti-freeze device especially adapted for use on a compressor employed in the fluid pressure A further object of the invention is to provide improved means of the type described which can be readily installed on compressors now in service Without alteration of the compressors.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved device of the type described which incorporates means to adjustably vary the rate at which antia freeze solution is supplied by the device.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved device of the type described which incorporates adjusting means, the adjustment of which can be quickly and easily altered when desired to vary the rate of supply of anti-freeze solution by the device, the device having means to indicate the relative position which the adjusting means occupies.

Another object of the invention is to provide an anti-freeze supply device of the type described adapted to be associated with the inlet passage of a compressor, the supply device being arranged so that it may be secured relative to the compressor in either of a plurality of positions so that if there are obstructions adjacent the compressor which interfere with the attachment of the device to the compressor in one position the device may be attached to the compressor in a different position to thereby avoid the obstructions.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved anti-freeze supply device of the type described which is simple and rugged in construction, easy to install, emcient in operation, and which can be constructed at small cost.

Other objects of the invention and features of novelty will be apparent from the following defaces of the body. The passage I8 is substantially in alignment with the inlet passage I2 in the compressor body when the body I5 which is in position on the compressor.

The body I5 has a projecting portion 20 formed thereon which is located in a plane between the parallel faces of the body, as is best shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing, while this projecting portion extends from the body in a plane at an angle to the plane extending through the bolt holes I6.

The projecting portion 26 has a bore therein which extends through to the passage I8. This bore extends substantially radially of the passage I8 so that the axis of the bore intersects the axis of the passage I8.

The bore in the projecting portion 20 has a portion of smaller diameter adjacent the passage I8, and this portion of the bore is separated from the larger portion of the bore by shoulder 22 which is spaced from the open end of the bore a distance somewhat greater than the diameter of the passage l8.

The end of the projecting portion 20 of the body I5 is slotted, as indicated at 23, while ears are formed on the projecting portion 20 adjacent the end thereof. These ears have openings therein through which extends a screw 24 which is adapted to have a nut 25 mounted thereon to draw the cars 23 together and thus clamp the end of the projecting portion 20 about a member positioned in the bore in this portion.

The bore in the projecting portion 20 is adapted to receive the end of a tube 26 which is of a diameter substantially equal to that of the larger portion of the bore in the projecting portion 20 so that the tube may be inserted in this bore until the end of the tube engages the shoulder 22. The tube 26 projects from the projecting portion 20 and has its other end secured to a coupling 28 by means of a compression fitting, while the coupling 28 also has secured thereto one end of a conduit 30, which may be formed of any suitable material, such as copper tubing, and which leads from a reservoir 32.

The reservoir 32 may be of any suitable construction and has a chamber therein adapted to hold a quantity of anti-freeze liquid, such as alcohol. The reservoir 32 is provided with a filler plug 34 which closes an opening in the upper wall of the reservoir through which fluid is supplied to the reservoir, while the reservoir has brackets 36 associated therewith by means of which it may be secured to a suitable support, such as the dash of a motor vehicle.

When this equipment is installed on a vehicle the reservoir is mounted on the support so that the level of the liquid in the reservoir, when the reservoir is filled to capacity, is vertically beneath body I5 a short distance.

The tube 26 has mounted therein a wick 40, which may be formed of suitable fibrous material, such as cotton, and is adapted to transfer liquid by capillary attraction from the lower portion of the tube 26 to the passage l8. This wick extends into the tube 26 at least to a point somewhat below the level of the bottom wall of the reservoir 32 so that the wick will be in contact with liquid supplied from the reservoir 32 as long as there is any liquid in this reservoir. The wick 40 is tubular in form and has mounted therein a rod 42. The thickness of the wick, the diameter of the rod 42, and the inside diameter of the tube 26 are proportioned so that the wick is firmly compressed between the rod 42 and the inner surface of the tube 26 to prevent too free transfer of liquid throughout the wick by capillary attraction or by flow past the Wick, but the wick is not so tightly compressed as to prevent a predetermined amount of flow of liquid through the wick.

The wick 40 is held in position by frictional engagement with the tube 26, while the rod 42 is held in position by the frictional engagement with the wick.

The wick 40 and the rod 42 project from the tube 26 a distance such that when the tube 26 is in position in the bore in the projecting portion 26 of the body I5 with the end of the tube in engagement with the shoulder 22, the rod 42 and the wick 40 extend substantially across the passage I8, thereby exposing the largest possible surface area of the wick to the fluid flowing through the passage I8, while the rod 42 serves as a support for the wick to keep the wick upright in the passage I8.

In the operation of the device, anti-freeze liquid from the reservoir 32 flows by gravity by way of the pipe 30 and the coupling 28 to the lower portion of the tube 26. The flow of liquid by gravity upwardly in the tube 26 is limited because the level of the liquid in the reservoir 32 is vertically beneath the level of the member I5. In addition, the wick 40 acts as packing and prevents the free flow of liquid out of the tube 26.

The liquid which flows from the reservoir 32 to the lower end of the tube 26 saturates the lower end of the wick and is transferred by capillary attraction to the portion of the wick exposed to fluid flowing through the passage I8.

On operation of the compressor I, fluid to be compressed is drawn into the annular inlet chamber 4 in the usual manner from the atmosphere through the air strainer I4, passage I8 in the body I5, and the inlet passage I2 in the compressor body.

The air which flows through the passage I8 in the body I5 takes with it alcohol from the wick 40 by evaporation, and this alcohol is carried to the reservoir into which fluid is compressed by the compressor, while this alcoholized 4 fluid will be carried to the fluid pressure system supplied from the reservoir with the result that there is no danger of freezing in any part of the apparatus.

The amount of alcohol evaporated from the wick 40 is dependent upon the amount of the wick which is exposed to fluid flowing through the passage I8, and the device provided by this invention is arranged to permit the amount of the wick 40 exposed to fluid flowing through the passage I8 to be adjustably varied. If it is desired to reduce the amount of the wick exposed to fluid flowing through the passage I8, and thus reduce the rate at which alcohol is evaporated, the screw 24 is loosened and the tube 26 is moved out of the bore in the projecting portion 20 of the body I5, thereby retracting a portion of the wick 40 from the passage I8. When the tube 26 has been moved to the desired position, the screw 24 is tightened, thereby clamping the tube 26 in the position to which it has been adjusted.

As the large portion of the bore in the projecting portion 20 is longer than the diameter of the passage IS, the tube 26 may be shifted in this bore a distance sufficient to retract the wick 40 entirely from the passage I8 if desired, and still leave a portion of the tube 26 to be clamped in the portion 20 of the body I5.

The tube 26 carries indicating indicia, such alteration of the compressor as a notch, indicated at 44, cut in the surface of the tube and disposed closely adjacent to the end of the projecting portion 20 when the tube 26 is in the position to cause the wick 40 to extend substantially the entire distance across the passage l8, that is, when the end of the tube engages the shoulder 22. When the tube 26 is moved out of the bore in the projecting portion 20, the notch 44 in the face of the tube is moved away from the end of the projecting portion 20, and by observing the distance which this notch is moved away from the end of the projecting portion 20 the operator may ascertain the amount of the wick 4U exposed to fluid flowing through the passage I8.

The device provided by this invention is constructed in a manner to facilitate its installation on compressors which are mounted in crowded locations, as under the hoods of motor vehicles where there is little unobstructed space.

It will be seen that the projecting portion 20 extends from the body 15 at an angle to the vertical, and that either of the parallel faces of the body 15 may be secured against the mounting face on the compressor body surrounding the inlet passage l2. If one face of the body is secured against the compressor body the projecting portion 29 and tube 26 extend from the body I5 in one direction. If it is found that constructions of any kind adjacent the compressor interfere with the attachment of the body 15 in this position, the body l5 may be turned over so as to bring the other face of the body i5 against the mounting face of the compressor, while the projecting portion 20 and the tube 26 extend away from the body in the other direction, as is best shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing, so as to be spaced from the obstructions which interfered with the tube 26 in the other position of the body l5.

If there are obstructions which interfere with the tube 26 in either position of the body Hi, the lower end of the tube 26 may be bent in order to cause the tube to pass around from these 0bs'tructions.

It will be seen that the anti-freeze supply device provided by this invention may be readily installed on compressor now in service without or of the associated apparatus in any way. In addition, it will be seen that the device is arranged so that it can be secured to a compressor in either of a plurality of positions in order that the device can best avoid obstructions located adjacent the compressor.

Furthermore, it will be seen that the device incorporates convenient adjusting means by which the amount of the wick 49 exposed to the fluid flowing to the compressor can be adjusted to thereby alter the rate at which alcohol is evaporated, while the device has visual means for indicating the position to which the wick has been moved.

While one embodiment of the improved antifreeze device provided by this invention has been illustrated and described in detail, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to these details of construction, and that numerous changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

Having now described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a device of the class described, a reservoir adapted to hold a quantity of anti-freeze liquid, a member adapted to be interposed between the mounting face on a compressor body surrounding an inlet passage in the compressor body and the mounting face on an air strainer adapted to be secured against the mounting face on the compressor, said member having a passage therein through which fluid flows from the air strainer to the compressor inlet passage, said member having a bore therein open to said passage, a conduit connecting said reservoir and said bore, a wick carried by and movable with said conduit and having a portion projecting from the end thereof, said wick projecting portion being adapted to extend into the passage in said member for transferring anti-freeze liquid from said conduit to fluid flowing through said passage, and. means providing for adjustably positioning said conduit in the bore in said member, whereby the amount of the wick extending into the passage in said member may be adjustably varied, and for locking said conduit in said bore in its adjusted position.

2. In a device of the class described, a reservoir adapted to contain a quantity of anti-freeze liquid, a member having spaced substantially parallel mounting faces and having a passage therein opening on said mounting faces, said member also having a projecting portion thereon disposed between said mounting faces, said projecting portion having a bore therein open to the passage in said member and also having a slot in the free end thereof, a conduit leading from said reservoir and having the end thereof slidably mounted in said bore, a wick carried by said conduit and having a portion projecting from the end of said conduit and adapted to extend into the passage in said member, and means extending across the slot in said projecting portion to secure said conduit in position in said bore.

3. The structure defined by claim 1 further characterized by the bore in the member interposed between the compressor body and the strainer being disposed at an angle and the member being reversibly mountable.

4. In a device of the class described, a reservoir adapted to hold a quantity of anti-freeze liquid, a member adapted to be interposed between the mounting face on a compressor body surrounding an inlet passage in the compressor body and the mounting face on an air strainer adapted to be secured against the mounting face on the compressor, said member having a passage therein through which fluid flows from the air strainer to the compressor inlet passage, said member having a bore therein open to said passage, a conduit connecting said reservoir and said bore, a wick carried by and movable with said conduit and having a portion projecting from the end thereof, said wick projecting portion being adapted to extend into the passage in said member for transferring anti-freeze liquid from said conduit to fluid flowing through said passage, means providing for adjustably positioning said conduit in the bore in said member, whereby the amount of the wick extending into the passage in said member may be adjustably varied, and for locking said conduit in said bore in its adjusted position, and means carried by said conduit for indicating the relative position which the wick occupies in said passage.

ALFRED B. WOOD. CLYDE C. FARMER. 

